HOUSE WITH COURT, PERGOLAS, OUTDOOR LIVING ROOMS AND SLEEPING BALCONIES
Published in The Craftsman, January, 1909.
HOUSE DESIGNED FOR OUTDOOR LIFE IN A WARM CLIMATE.
J IFE in a warm country, where there is much sunshine and where it is pos-4 sible to be out of doors during the greater part of the time, was specially taken into consideration in the designing of this house, for the plan makes as much ac-count of the terraces, porches and the open paved court as it does of the rooms within the walls of the building. Such a plan would serve admirably for a dwelling in California or in the Southern States, but would be advisable only for specially favored spots in the North and East, as its comfort and charm necessarily depend very largely upon the possibility of outdoor life.
As originally planned, the walls o,f the lower story are to be built of cement or of stucco on metal lath. The upper walls are shingled. The roof is of red tile and the foundation and parapets are of field stone. As with all these houses, though, the materials used are entirely optional and can be varied according to the taste of the owner, the requirements of the landscape or the limitations of the amount to be expended, as the building would look quite as well if constructed of concrete or of brick, and with clapboards in the place of shingles. If a
42wooden house should be preferred, the walls from top to bottom could either be shingled or sheathed with wide clapboards, while the roof is equally well adapted to tiles, slates or shingles. The first of the perspective drawings gives a view of the whole house as seen from the rear, showing the pergola at the back and the design of the roof, which we consider specially attractive. The second drawing shows the side of the house instead of the front, as by taking this view it is possible to include both porch and court and also show the balcony and outdoor sleeping room on the upper story. A broad terrace runs across the front of the house and continues around the side, where it forms a porch which is meant to he used as an outdoor living room. This porch is nearly square in shape and is either tiled with Welsh quarries or, if a less expensive flooring he desired, is paved with red cement marked off into squares that measure about nine inches each way. This floor has a close resemblance to one made of Welsh quarries and is dry and durable. In flooring a porch of this kind it is always better to avoid the use of plain brick, as this porous material gathers and holds moisture to such an extent that the floor is seldom dry.
